Shining in the Garden
by BeardedBardiche
Summary: Chikage is spending some time alone outside Marugame Castle until Yuuna comes along to brighten her day.


The Marugame Castle grounds lay quiet. The bustle of the morning's training gave way to a peaceful afternoon that not even the cicadas dared disturb. A few clouds floated in the sky, their shadows drifting across the castle every so often. Only the rustling of leaves broke the silence when a stray breeze would come and go.

Underneath one of the trees dotting the castle grounds, Chikage took refuge from the afternoon heat. She sat on the shaded grass a small distance from the base of the tree. The edge of the tree's shadow fell mere inches from her, creeping closer as the minutes passed and the day grew closer to its end. But the scenery around her was far from her thoughts. Instead, she focused intently on the game console in her hands. Her fingers quickly hammered each button, as if the force with which she hit them would be transferred into the game itself.

Normally, she would be in her room at this hour. Even if it was portable, there wasn't any need for her to venture outside the confines of her own room to play games on the handheld console. Her room was comfortable. Not hot like it was here, outside. She didn't want to be bothered by someone like Tamako or Wakaba. Annoyances. She could take refuge in the dorm. She could. It would've been ideal. Just like normal. But today she found herself in the garden on the castle grounds. Not for any particular reason. It wasn't the first time she'd come here instead of her room. Of course, last time she was discovered by Wakaba and Tamako walking the grounds together. Why them? They didn't even stay long, they had no need for her for anything, so why couldn't they have left her alone?

Chikage gripped the console tight,frustrated, waiting for the game to reload the level. She'd lost her concentration and made a few too many errors. No matter. Neither Wakaba nor Tamako were likely to bother her today; both were being occupied by their best friends, or so they said of their plans when their group of six ended the morning training. She had thought of this spot when everyone asked what she would be doing, but just said she would be playing games in her room. No different from any other day they asked. No one would come to find and bother her if they thought that's where she was. As long as she remained quiet, she would be left alone. Completely alone.

Chikage stopped moving her fingers and frowned. Again, having to restart from a loss. She had thought she was just bothered by the idea of being discovered when she lost the first time, but now she lost again. A rare off day, she supposed.

She sighed and looked up from the screen. Everything nearby seemed dark, a stark contrast with the brightly lit world in the distance. The border between the two slid across the ground, slowly moving toward the furthest reaches of her sight as if the shadow sought to engulf the world. The sight made her uneasy. Maybe she was already feeling uneasy. Maybe she should just go back to her room. There wasn't a point to being out here, was there? Her eyes traced the tops of the bushes that stood between her and the paths circling past this part of the garden. Searching, but for what? Nothing jumped out at her as the answer.

She felt something. A faint touch on her shoulder. At the same time, the ground beside her lit up from behind, the darkness swept away just as it had swept away the light before. All apart from a silhouette-shaped spot reaching out from behind her. Chikage twisted herself around and winced, her hand instinctively moving to shield her eyes from the sunlight now fully engulfing her. Something grasped her hand. Chikage strained to look; against the blinding backdrop, the silhouette reaching out to her almost seemed to cast its own shining light down onto her. The figure stepped to the side, carrying her hand along with it and pulling her gaze away from the unpleasantly bright sky.

Emerging from the silhouette, the soft yet brilliant red eyes of Yuuna took shape first. Her red hair fluttered with each little movement she made. The ribbon tying the small ponytail she did her hair in waved back and forth with the breeze. Her flower hair clip glinted in the sunlight where it adorned her left bangs. One arm behind her back, she leaned down closer with a playful pose. Her face was mere centimeters away.

Chikage breathed deep. Her mouth opened slightly. No words escaped. The girl in front of her, still holding her hand, stuck a single finger out and put it to her lips, silencing her with a tender touch. She lingered, and Chikage gazed up along her arm and into her eyes.

When Yuuna pulled her finger away, Chikage's heart wept just a little.

The feeling lasted only for the few seconds it took for Yuuna to kneel down and bring her face down level with hers. Chikage watched as she used her free hand to point at herself, then Chikage. She mouthed something, her hand reaching down outside her sight and motioning a little. Chikage never took her eyes off Yuuna's. What was it she did just then? She tilted her head slightly. Her brows furrowed in confusion when Yuuna's smile transformed into a grin. A silent giggle.

Yuuna drew her hand close to her chest. The hand still holding Chikage's. Already off balance from twisting around in her seated position to look behind her, Chikage succumbed to the gentle tug and fell.

The impact was blissfully soft.

Her head landed not on the grass, but on a cushion. A warm cushion adorned with thigh-high socks. She turned her head and looked up. Yuuna's other hand brushed against her forehead, pushing away stray strands of hair from her eyes. She gazed down on her with a concerned look to her. It wasn't concern about her fall. She said nothing, but in her eyes, Chikage felt her reaching out, full of timid hope. Asking her to accept.

She tightened her fingers around Yuuna's and smiled back, confident and reassuring.

Chikage propped herself up with one hand and turned herself back over into a sitting position, her back to Yuuna. She slid in closer to her best friend and leaned back. Yuuna's hand touched her shoulders and helped lower her onto her lap. The back of her head rested against Yuuna's tummy. Chikage glanced around. Instead of finding it on the ground beside her where she'd set it just moments ago, her game console appeared at the top of her vision, in Yuuna's hand. Wiggling a little bit, Chikage got herself comfortable and took her game back into her hands. Immediately, her fingers began dancing across the controls.

A soothing sense of contentment washed over Chikage. She let herself soak in it. She wanted more. Her head pushed slightly against Yuuna's tummy, and she sank further into her lap. Firm from years of training, far more than Chikage could imagine herself doing, yet still so soft. She felt Yuuna's fingertips trace aimlessly through her hair on the side of her head. The top was soon claimed as hers as well. Chikage's hair loop became a plaything for her idle hand. It wasn't too long before Chikage felt her head being rubbed slowly, gently. With every breath, Yuuna's tummy would lift her head slightly from her lap pillow, then ease her back down. It evoked a feeling of being rocked in Chikage. Similar what she imagined a mother lulling her baby to sleep would be like, perhaps.

It was a good feeling.

The minutes passed by. It didn't matter how many. Their shadows moved slowly across the ground. Chikage's fingers never stopped gliding across her console's controls, so full of energy and confidence they were, until the game screen lit up with a flurry of colors and lights — final victory.

Chikage felt her body relax even further. She lay in Yuuna's lap for a few minutes, eyes closed. She felt Yuuna's hands continue to stroke her head. Everything was quiet. Her mind adrift, the faint scent of strawberries caught her attention. So pleasant. Calming. Familiar. She opened her eyes and tilted her head back. Her hand drifted upward, and she touched her fingertips to Yuuna's cheek. The girl's eyes fluttered open, as if she had been asleep, but Chikage knew that wasn't the case. The contentment she felt in her heart the entire time, she knew part of it was Yuuna's. Every time she succeeded in her game, she had felt Yuuna's fingers change their movements slightly, encouraging her further. She didn't need to see her dearest friend's face to know she'd been watching over her the entire time.

She cupped Yuuna's cheek in her palm and stroked the edges of her lips. Yuuna nuzzled her cheek into her hand even further and sighed, her eyes drifting closed again for a moment. She took Chikage's hand into her own. Their fingers interlaced.

With the sun shining down upon them, Yuuna looked down to meet Chikage's eyes.

Their smiles shone brighter than the sun could ever hope to match.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

All credit for the inspiration of this story goes to itaro, whose artwork that was the inspiration can be found at the pixiv link below. Please send your love his way if you liked this story, and view all of his many wonderful Yuusha art pieces! I can't thank itaro enough for his contributions to the community.

pixiv dot net/en/artworks/66204508

I wanted to try something a little different with this story. Unlike previous works, this one doesn't have any dialogue at all. I wanted to see if I could carry a piece without any character dialogue. So, I hope this has done a good job, and that you've enjoyed this little story about these two wonderful girls! I've been wanting to write something for a Chikage/Takashima story for some time now, but couldn't decide on a premise until I was browsing itaro's past works and saw this piece again. I couldn't get this idea out of my head without putting it into words. Hopefully it's done justice to the original picture.


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